The Veterans Last Stand
by Generalfoley
Summary: The Call of Duty series is fiction. Everybody knows this. Of course, Infinity Ward's quest at making a virtual simulator for war time activities crushes that fact. Read as highschool students are trapped in a simulator and forced to... Full summary inside  UNDER REVISION AND REWRITE!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The Call of Duty series is fiction. Everybody knows this. Of course, Infinity Ward's quest at making a virtual simulator for war time activities crushes that fact. Read as a team highschool students are trapped in this experimental simulator and forced to play a madman's custom Modern Warfare 2 campaign and enemy AI's. Watch as the Veterans of Modern Warfare 2 make their last stand!

Note from the author: This is a small project I had to work on for school, and of course, it was fanfiction. So I thought I would share what I used for English. It's not great, but it's good. I hope you all like it. Enjoy!

* * *

Disclaimer: I own only the plot and some of the characters. I do not own Modern Warfare 2 or Infinity Ward. If I did, I would amass an army of fans and nerds to take Marvel back from Disney. Yes, I actually would do that.

The Veterans Last Stand

Chapter One

A tall teenage boy, no older than sixteen, walked into the classroom, his steel gray eyes holding a tired look within them. His short, military cut black hair was sticking up in various places, displaying his lack of sleep. He wore a tan coat, a black shirt with a white stripe going down the left side of the torso, tan cargo pants, and leather steel toed boots. The clothing was made from the heavy combat cloth known as Kevlar. It cost him a pretty penny, but it was worth it.

"Hey, Connor, what's up?" Said the redheaded Science teacher and good friend of Connor, Mrs. Preston.

"Not much, Mrs. Preston, just another night shift." Connor said as he pushed up his rectangular framed glasses, referring to the late nights of game testing.

Connor walked to his desk, sitting next to his class partner and fellow tester, Mitch. Mitch was a head shorter than Connor, with short black hair, tan skin, and a white shirt, with dark grey cargo shorts, and brown eyes."Hey, Mitch, you get that homework done from last night?" Connor asked him as he set his backpack down next to his chair.

"Yeah, did you?" Mitch asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, just checking." Connor said, pulling out his folder. He set the white folder on his desk, before looking at Mitch, whose hand was held out. Connor rolled his eyes as he reached into his pocket.

"You really need to get help for this addiction, man." Connor said as he pulled out a pack of Tic Tacs. The tired teen handed the pack to his partner.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Mitch said, not caring one bit.

Connor looked up to see his friend and fellow game tester, Jose. Jose was an inch or so taller than Connor, with a light brown tone to his skin. His short black hair was curly and plastered to his scalp by nature. He wore a large hooded jacket, a pair of loose pants, and a black shirt with a stylized dragon on it.

"What's happening Jose?" Connor asked, holding out his hand for a high five. Jose slapped his hand in the form of a high five, although he looked exhausted.

"Not much, man. Just a little tired." Jose said, slumping as he sat down in the desk behind Connor.

* * *

Mrs. Preston stood up once everybody was seated. "Today is a very special day, class." She said, grabbing her keys.

"Sunnyslope High School has been selected by Infinity Ward, the creators of the game Modern Warfare 2, to test their new Virtual War Simulator!" Most of the class was somewhat confused. But Connor, Jose, and Mitch were practically ecstatic. They had heard of Infinity Ward's pet project, but they never thought they would actually test it.

"Come on, we're going to the gym to test it." Said Mrs. Preston. Jose, Connor, and Mitch followed her, excited for the chance to test the Virtual War Simulator, while the rest of the class followed because they didn't want class that day.

* * *

The three game testers looked in blatant awe at what Infinity Ward did to the gym. The gym was bare of bleachers, and it had pulsing blue lines in the pattern of a processor chip. They snapped out of their reverie, hearing the voice of the man who was telling them about how the VWS worked.

"Now the manner in which the Virtual War Simulator works is by inserting the player directly into the game, which will be Modern Warfare 2 for today. The insertion is controlled by the administrators, who chose when you spawn, or appear, in the game. You interact with the game by putting on these suits."

"You all will be placed in the colossal map called Derailed, a snowy abandoned train yard with many derailed cargo train cargo cars. Today's match is a Team Deathmatch, meaning this class will be divided into two teams. How many of you have played Modern Warfare 2 before?" The Instructor asked. Sixteen out of forty-eight hands rose, including that of the three testers.

"Good, very good. This means that the sixteen of you will be a team. The rest of you will be formed into a team, as a result. Will the sixteen veterans please step forward and tell us your name, nickname and rank?"

Connor stepped forward first, pushing up his glasses. "Connor Filii, nickname Fade, rank Colonel."

The Instructor handed Connor his suit and helmet. Jose stepped up as Connor went to the boy's locker room to get changed.

"Jose Lopez, nickname Marksman, rank Captain." The Instructor passed the body suit and helmet to Jose as well. Jose walked to the boy's locker room to change as Mitch stepped up.

"Mitch Donnelly, nickname Silent Night, rank Staff Sergeant." The Instructor smiled as he gave the suit and helmet to Mitch. "So you're the famous Silent Night. I look forward to watching you play." With a small thanks, Mitch walked into the locker room as the Instructor called up the next 'veteran'.

* * *

The Instructor stood in front of the science class, which wore the virtual player suits. The Tester Trio was in a jovial mood. They couldn't wait to fight the hostile team, designated as the Spetsnaz, with their fellow gaming veterans.

ans, or Task Force 141, will be equipped with what they have earned in their Modern Warfare 2 games. The Spetsnaz team will be equipped with the default classes new gamers are issued. You have one minute before the game begins, so choose your classes wisely. Now, have a good match, and we'll see you in three hours." The Instructor said, waving at the two teams before leaving the room.

Connor looked at the other veterans.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Connor asked, wanting insight on what his team members wanted to do. One veteran stepped forward.

"The plan I have is somewhat risky. If we go through with this, our team will split up into squads of four, and converge on the center building. When we arrive, we'll fortify the second story, fending off every assault the Spetsnaz throws our way." Connor nodded, the screen in his helmet confirming his choice of weaponry. "That's a sound plan. What are the teams?"

"Nickname's Nuke. I'll join your team, Delta squad, while these four," Nuke pointed at four other veterans, who gave them thumbs up. "Will be Omega squad, and those four," Nuke pointed at the last group, who nodded, or saluted. "Will be Theta squad. We'll rendezvous at the Center Building. From there, we'll fight off three hours of attacks until we win." Nuke explained, crossing his arms. A beep sounded throughout the gym. "Players, twenty seconds until game time. Choose your classes, and get ready for combat."

The newly instated Delta squad looked at their team. "It's go time, let's load up!" Connor shouted, the weapons of each member appearing on them. Monster gripped his virtual SCAR-H assault rifle outfitted with a Thermal Scope, extended magazines, and a Master key shotgun. He checked his dual Desert Eagles, and made sure his throwing knives and fragmentation grenades were attached to his person. He turned to the crowd of video game veterans.

"Remember what you've done, and remember what you've learned. Check your corners, make sure your weapons are loaded, and aim down your sights. I don't want to see anybody firing from the hip. You don't want to look like a dumbass when you don't hit anything." A few of the veterans chuckled at the fact. The noobs would surely fire from the hip, like all those movie stars they watched.

"Remember the words we've heard. Remember that the healthy human mind doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is it's last day on Earth. Think of that as luxury, not a curse. To know you're close to the end is a kind of freedom. Good time to take... inventory. Outgunned. Outnumbered. Out of our minds on a suicide mission, but the snow and rocks here stained with thousands of years of warfare... they will remember us for this. Because out of all our vast array of nightmares, this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forward like a breath exhaled from the Earth. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight: We will win this game!" Connor shouted, eliciting cheers from the team of veterans before they disappeared in a flash of light.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Read the top of the first chapter, because I'm not saying it again.

The Veterans Last Stand

Chapter 2

The blur disappeared from Connor's eyes as he blinked rapidly. "Damn, did the flash have to be so bright?" Connor asked, before he shivered. "Or that the environment would be so realistically freezing?" Connor shrugged off the cold weather, as hard as it was, and surveyed the area, looking for a familiar landmark. His eyes widened as he spotted a landmark. The snow covered Nova gas station. Apparently his teammates recognized the area they were at as well.

"Shit," Jose sighed. Jose was dressed in an arctic ghillie suit, holding a silenced Walther WA2000 sniper rifle, fitted with a heartbeat sensor. His side arms were two H&K USP silenced pistols, fitted with extended magazines. He carried fragmentation and smoke grenades, and had a large metal tube on his back.

"We're on the other side of the frigging map!" The Central Building would be across the map, where there was a rare amount of cover along the way. It aptly gained the name Open Season, for the absurd amount of kills players amounted, like hunting black deer in winter. It would be a massacre if they went across it.

"It's not that bad. We can still go through with the plan." An Omega veteran, Ghillie, voiced in his Scottish accent. He was dressed in the arctic version of a ghillie suit, as was his namesake, armed with a Cheyenne Tactical M-200 Intervention sniper rifle in an arctic camouflage scheme, a M1911A1 pistol strapped to his leg holster, and a pair of combat knives attached to his shoulders, sticking up by the handle.

"Yeah, we can still go around Open Season by sticking to the trees." Mitch declared, dressed in the standard U.S. Rangers uniform, plus facemask. He was armed with a Bushmaster ACR, fitted with an ACOG scope, a heartbeat sensor, and a silencer. His sidearm was a pair of Brügger & Thomet MP-9 machine pistols, fitted with silencers and extended magazines. His equipment consisted of throwing knifes and stun grenades. In multiplayer matches across the world, he was often called the Silent Night because of his use of silenced weapons. The fact of him humming the song while he played had no relevance to the name.

Connor sighed, readjusting his grip on his SCAR-H assault rifle. He took a good look at the team of sixteen veterans, who were split up into three squads of four. They looked eager to jump into battle.

"Fine, we'll go along with the plan. Omega squad will stick to the western side of the map, while Theta will stick along the far east. Delta will run from cover to cover in the forest to the east, taking potshots at the Spetsnaz, should they appear. Don't open fire or take the building until I give the order. Hoorah?"

The team nodded, separating into their squads of four and jogging to their designated areas. Connor looked at the rest of Delta squad as they started toward their rally point. "Alright, let's move out. Mitch, activate your heartbeat sensor. If anything's out there, I want to know about it. Jose, keep your pistols out and your rifle holstered. It won't be any good at close range. And Nuke," Connor addressed the fourth squad member. Nuke was outfitted in Military Riot gear, with a riot shield on his back and an H&K MP5K holstered on his right leg. He had an Armsel Striker shotgun in his hands, fitted with a red dot sight, and a specialized silenced barrel, in arctic camouflage. "You keep your shotgun out, and stay on our six." Nuke nodded, shouldering his weapon.

Connor sighed as he screwed on a silencer to his SCAR-H assault rifle. This part of the plan required silence, stealth, and great aim. And a whole shit load of luck.

Still, Connor was nothing short of amazed at how realistic the simulator was. Everything felt real, from the weight of his equipment, to the feeling the environment gave. From the temperature of the 13-degree weather to the way the snow crunched under his weight, everything was as realistic as it was in the real world. A snap was heard. Connor raised his fist in the air, signaling the team to hold their positions. Connor motioned the rest of Delta squad to get into position, Jose in the prone position, Nuke behind a tree, and Mitch in the bushes to the right. Connor moved to a small hill of snow, aiming down his thermal scope. He spotted three Spetsnaz approaching their position. Connor tapped into the comm. system and set the volume to be heard at a whisper.

"Heads up. Three noobs, thirty-one yards up. Jose, take the one on the right. I'll take the two on the left." Connor whispered into the mike as he steadied his breathing.

"Three dead men in three... two... one... take 'em." Connor one bullet into the skull of one player, three in the other. Jose shot the last player in the Medulla Oblongata, ensuring that the player wouldn't pull the trigger while in his death throes.

"Nicely done." Connor said as Delta squad grouped together. Connor adjusted the comm. system to be expanded to the entire team.

"Three noobs down, how many Omega, Theta?" Connor asked the other squads. He hoped things had gone off without a hitch.

"Took down four noobs, Delta." Ghillie, the Omega leader, said. Static is what Theta replied with. Connor wore a worried expression.

"Theta? Theta, report!" Connor was replied with static, until he got a response. Gunfire was roaring on the other side of the comm. link, with frantic orders.

"Delta, we need support! We've been ambushed! We need assistance! I repeat, we need assist-" Static roared over the comm. again. Delta was on the move, sprinting as fast as they could towards Theta's position. Three minutes later, they arrived at a slope surveying the gunfight between eighteen Spetsnaz and the four Theta veterans below. Connor started spitting out orders as fast as he could.

"Delta, spread out! I want these noobs dead as fast as possible! Move, move, move!" Connor yelled, firing in three round bursts at the enemy players. One burst, one player dead. Another burst, another player dead.

"I'll climb a tree, pick them off from there!" Jose said as he climbed a nearby tree, and sat on a branch. He pulled out his sniper rifle, and aimed down the scope. He spotted one enemy, and pulled the trigger, creating a hole in his head.

Mitch took his ACR and aimed down the ACOG scope at a player holding an AA-12 shotgun, with a drum magazine and a forward grip. Mitch fired his rifle, taking out the shot gunner. A nearby sniper saw Mitch, and fired at him. The bullet missed Mitch completely, only taking out his rifle. Mitch threw the rifle down and pulled his MP-9s from his holsters. Mitch ran down the slope, firing his MP-9s in bursts, all the while humming 'Silent Night'.

Nuke pulled out his riot shield and MP5K sub-machine gun, firing while crouching behind the cover of his shield. He bashed a player who got in his way, splatting brain matter across the shield.

"Eww." Nuke groaned, firing at the Spetsnaz while frantically trying to get the brains off his shield. Connor was on his last clip, taking cover behind a rock that was quickly turning into a pebble, from the amount of enemy fire he drew. On his last survey, there were ten Spetsnaz left. He plucked a frag grenade from his vest, giving the pin a quick tug, setting the pin free. Connor counted to two, before yelling two words.

"Frag out!" Connor screamed, throwing the deadly explosive at an enemy player. The small mass of brittle iron and explosive compounds hit a player dead center in the face. The noob screamed in pain, before his body was thrown back by the force of the explosion, along with three other comrades. Connor looked over his cover, seeing six other players. Connor aimed his rifle, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

Connor's eyes widened before he was knocked down to the ground, breathless. His eyes opened to see a Spetsnaz trooper, a knife raised in his hand. Connor raised his hand to block the hand, but instead received a great pain, a pain that he had never felt before. Connor looked at his hand, and the knife jutting from that hand. The player on top of him was about to strike the finishing blow, yet his life had ended by the actions of Jose, whose barrel was smoking.

Connor grunted as he pushed the player off of him. He looked at the knife, which went straight through his left hand, up to the hilt. Taking the knife's handle in his hand, Connor yelled in pain as he ripped it out, tearing through blood, bone, and muscle.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, throwing the blade to the ground, soaking it in the scarlet liquid. It was over.

"Colonel!" A Theta team member came running towards Connor, who bore the insignia for Corporal, carrying a box with a red cross on it. A first aid kit. The Theta crouched down next to Connor and opened the box, taking out a needle and black thread.

Connor shook his head, saying, "Go check the others, Corporal. I'll live." Connor picked himself up, before his comm. chirped. Connor placed his fingers on his earpiece. "This is Colonel Filii." Connor said into the mike. He grinned to himself. He never thought he'd sound so official.

"Colonel? Wow, Connor, never thought you had it in you." Connor's eyes widened as his grin turned into an open mouthed gape.

"John?"

* * *

A black silhouette stood at the main computer terminal of the Virtual War Simulator, two dead guards at his feet.

"Damn." The person said to himself. He couldn't get into the player controls, nor could he get into the system surrounding the players and their insertions. Meaning he couldn't interfere with the players or the amount of players added to the game. He could, however, shut down the safety features built into the VWS, trap the players inside the game, and add a few... surprises to the current match.

He brought up a menu ladled 'Safety Settings'. The person looked down the list, shutting down various safety features to make the game harder and harder for the players inside. He stared at the last setting for a long time. It was listed as, "Number of Lives: Unlimited". The man dragged the mouse to the setting, and changed it. It now said, "Number of Lives: One".

"Almost done." Said the man, who took out a disk, labeled 'Custom Campaign'. He inserted the disk into the disk drive, and set it to activate after the match. The man showed no emotion as he erased any traces of him being there before walking to the door. The Instructor smiled grimly as he left the room. His master would be pleased.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I swear, I will not say this again. Look at the first chapter for that damn disclaimer!!!!

The Veteran's Last Stand: Chapter 3

Connor bandaged his hand as he sat on a nearby log. Something was wrong; he could feel it in his gut. His comm. Crackled to life as an unknown, yet authoritative, voice came to life. "_Veteran… port…"_ Connor couldn't make out the message; the comm. was filled with static. He put his fingers to his earpiece, as if it would make the broken transmission clearer. "Say again, over." Connor said, curious to know who was saying the message.

"_Veteran team, report! Goddammit, somebody answer me!"_ yelled the man on the radio. The entire team either grabbed their ears or winced badly from the feedback the shout, including Connor, who staggered a bit.

"Keep it down! This is Connor, current leader of the Vets, who is this, over?" Connor asked, somewhat irritated. Why, oh why, did people have to yell into the mike? The virtual Colonel gazed at his team, who gathered the weapons and ammo from the 'dead'.

"_This is Main Administrator Shepard, Director of the Virtual War Simulator project that you are now testing. A number of predicaments have revealed themselves."_ The man known as Shepard explained. Connor was confused now. While he couldn't even begin to speculate on what the problems were, they had to be important for the Main Admin to tell him this.

"What are these predicaments, Shepard?" Connor asked. Although he did not show it, Connor was worried. He had a feeling something was wrong, but disregarded it. _Fate, you now and forever more, totally suck. Big time._ Connor thought to himself.

* * *

Shepard sighed from where he was seated. He didn't want this to happen, but he couldn't hate himself now, not when lives were at stake. Maybe later, with a bottle of Bourbon as he cried himself to sleep. But not at this moment.

"Connor, we've detected a number of breaches in the data streams of the VWS. When we investigated, we found several computer programs altering the files and data to adapt a colossal war program into the VWS. We also found that several protocols that effect user safety were altered extensively, and the time frame inside the current simulation has been lengthened." Shepard said into the headset he was provided.

"_Can you translate? I'm not as computer savvy as I used to be."_ Connor replied, a subtle tone of irritation in his voice.

Shepard sighed again. Wasn't Connor supposed to be a game tester? "Someone hacked into our system and introduced the VWS to a giant war campaign that's set to start after you've finished the match. The match length has been altered as well, to a much longer time mentally than physically. Physically, the match will end in the three hours it was supposed to end, but the length of the match to you will end in…"

"_In how long, Shepard?"_ Connor asked warily. He was almost afraid what the answer would be.

"In three years time, Connor. Your physical bodies wouldn't be affected, due to the Network-Pods your class was placed in," Shepard said while he watched technicians maintain the pods the Veterans were trapped in. "But mentally, you will age three years."

"_Then get us out! End the match! Do something!"_ Connor angrily replied. Shepard shook his head.

"We can't, Connor. The hacker made sure that we couldn't release you; he's changed all the passwords. It'll take at least a day to break their encryption, and even then, you'd probably still be in the war campaign; we're still analyzing the codes that make up the program, and if we don't know every detail, every letter of code, then releasing you and your team could be fatal." Shepard explained. He sighed again, disappointed in himself. This wasn't supposed to happen. And he hadn't even explained the worst part.

"_Is there anything else, Shepard?"_ Connor asked wearily.

"Yes, unfortunately. The hacker accessed the Simulator's safety features, and modified them extensively. He changed them in a way to maximize the realism of the game, to the point… to the point where if the players die in the game, their vital functions cease in reality. If anyone dies in the game… they die in real life. This triggered the Net-Pods' safety protocols, however, and released the losing team first. The hacker took them down before you and your team was released."

"_So we're still trapped, and we'll die in reality if we die here. Great."_ Connor said sarcastically. _"Anything else?"_

"Well, we shut the hacker out before he could take down anything else. We can still place people within the game, which is great. Infinity Ward has friends high up in the government's chain of command, and has requested military help in this matter, which was approved almost right away. We have a few teams of Marines coming down from Sacramento to help you and your team. A few Modern Warfare 2 veterans on campus have also agreed to help. Thirty-eight veterans who know you or know of you. Looks like you have a few friends yourself, Connor."

"_So my friends from campus are coming to help me out?"_ Connor asked skeptically. "Yes, and they-" Shepard started before he was interrupted.

"_Are you fucking insane?! Don't let them, or they'll be trapped like we are, you idiot! If we die in here, I'll come back from the grave and string your-"_ The mute button was pushed at that moment, courtesy of a nearby tech. He lifted the button to hear swearing that would make a sailor blush. 'The boy has a dark mind, I'll give him that.' Shepard thought.

"_-and then I'll sew you back up and cut your-"_

"Connor, enough! They're already in the game, we can't get them out. They'll meet you at the Central Building. The Marines will be there in a few hours, game time."

"_They had better be, Shepard, or it's your head."_ Connor replied. _"Now, is there anything else we should know, or do we have to figure those out ourselves?"_

"Yeah, unfortunately, there is. The hacker implemented an advanced enemy artificial intelligence into the game. The AI will be spawning multitudes of enemies that are programmed to act and think like trained Russian Spetznaz, and they are self adapting. They'll attack you in an hour, your time. But there is a positive side to this. We, out here, can monitor the game, and relay information to you and your team. We'll contact you if we gain further information, over and out."

* * *

Connor sighed as he sat down again, weary. He looked at his squad, who had heard the entire conversation. He could see that Mitch had taken a silenced AK-74 to replace his busted ACR. The leader of the Veterans shook his head.

"I guess you all heard that?" He asked the team. The squads in front of him nodded, while beeps came in from the comm. piece, signaling an affirmative from the rest of the team. Connor sighed again.

"Then you know the current situation. Now we have an hour to get to the Central Building and prepare before the enemy shows up. Let's get there pronto. Let's move out!" The team nodded before walking towards the center of the map.

Connor picked up an AK-74 that was on the ground. He took the Master Key shotgun and thermal scope from his rifle and equipped it to the Kalashnikov.

_'__Let's just hope we survive this.'_ Connor thought to himself as he jogged up to his team.


End file.
